Is it Narnia? Elsa’s snow castle? New York homes turn into igloos overnight. Here’s how

While the photos online seem almost mystical, locals had a different experience of this event.

Startling pictures of houses covered in massive snow have been shared across social media. And they look like something out of winter wonderland. A naturally occurring phenomenon called ‘lake-effect snow’ near Lake Erie in New York made houses in the area look like a scene out of ‘Frozen’. Residents of Hamburg woke up almost entrapped in their houses on February 27 when temperatures dipped below 32 Fahrenheit (0 Celsius) and a mass of cold air moved across the expanse of the lake with higher temperatures causing the effect.

A house along Hoover Beach is covered by ice from high winds and from the waves from Lake Erie. (AP)

While the photos online seem almost mystical, locals had a different experience of the event.

Ed Mis, who has lived in his house for the past eight years, spoke to WGRZ-TV about how he had to break into his own house using a chisel. Some residents complained about sunlight not being able to fully penetrate through the 3-foot-thick snow which left their houses dark on the inside without any artificial lighting.

While the ice had started to melt by Friday, residents remained worried about the structural damage that this phenomenon can cause to their property.

Here are some other pictures shared on Instagram:

But the question remains, are these picturesque views worth the high insurance premium?